As cellular communications systems have evolved, a number of cellular protocols or technologies have been created to define the evolution. For example, cellular systems are currently transitioning between earlier cellular protocols that can be described in terms of 3G (e.g., CDMA 2000 and UMTS) and 4G long-term evolution (LTE) cellular protocols. As the transitions occur, wireless devices communicating over cellular communications systems often interact with base stations or cell towers that offer 3G cellular protocols or LTE protocols. The wireless devices may be able to communicate using both 3G and LTE cellular protocols and as cellular communications systems evolve the devices can connect with cell towers using either 3G or LTE cellular protocols.
Presently, wireless devices capable of using VoLTE cellular protocols may be programmed to initially attempt a VoLTE registration regardless of which cellular protocol is used by nearby cell towers. While this may be optimal for wireless devices that use LTE cellular protocols for both voice and short message service (SMS) messaging, it may not be for some wireless devices that are configured so that they use LTE for voice communications (VoLTE) yet rely on circuit-switched cellular protocols for SMS messaging.